According to a statement from Chard, administrators from BDO will be appointed at the group “on or around 19 June”. And in an unusual move the firm is also set to attempt a CVA (company voluntary arrangement) with its creditors.
A number of unidentified hurdles also need to be surmounted for the deal to be successful.
If successful, the reprised business would comprise the King’s Lynn site and print-on-demand operation in Bodmin.
MPG’s statement in full, said: “Shareholders of MPG Printgroup have had further meetings with their Primary Lenders this week to discuss a rescue plan.
“Whilst tacit approval has been given, there remain a number of hurdles the Company must overcome in the next few days with its Stakeholders and all efforts are being made to satisfy these requirements.
“It is with regret that our Bar Hill facility cannot be included within the rescue plan as the funding requirements were too great.
“BDO are to be appointed as Administrator on or around 19th June at which time all employees will be contacted in regard to their employment status. Simultaneously documents for a proposed CVA will be issued to all Creditors for their consideration.”
MPG’s shareholders are Tony Chard and sales director Andy Simpson. Its main bankers are Lloyds TSB and HSBC.
Update at 5pm: Cambridge University Press (CUP), which had been under fire over its decision to offload its print works to MPG, has now issued the following statement to PrintWeek. The university placed the blame for the current situation firmly at the feet of MPG, but said a hardship fund had been established to assist former CUP employees.
“In May 2013, the management team of MPG Print Group announced that it had filed an intention to go into administration, while it attempted to restructure its business by developing a rescue plan.
“We understand from MPG Print Group that their Bar Hill site does not feature in their rescue plan. MPG has said that therefore when an administrator is appointed, the staff at that site, including our former printing colleagues, will become formally redundant.
“In July 2012 Cambridge University Press placed a large proportion of its UK printing with MPG. The agreement also saw the Press’s in-house printing department, and most of the printing staff, transferred to MPG.
“At the time of the transfer, MPG was a well-established and profitable print organisation with many customers and three plants across the UK. We had hoped the move of the Press’s in-house printing facility to MPG would allow skilled printing staff otherwise facing redundancy to have longer-term employment in the Cambridge area. It appears that MPG found it more difficult than expected to establish its new Cambridge factory which seems to have led to its subsequent financial difficulties and ultimately the closure of their new plant.
“Responsibility for the current financial crisis and the subsequent impact on staff lies with MPG.
“However, our concern for our former printing colleagues has led us to consider how we might offer them support.
“As a result, we will be setting aside a hardship fund to which individuals who transferred to MPG from the Press may apply for additional financial support during this difficult time.
“Additionally, we will arrange for out-placement support to help equip them in finding new employment. We will be in contact with eligible former Press printing colleagues in the next few days.”